Insertable and detachable arch-supporting unit for footwear



INSERTABLE AND DETACHABLE ARCH-SUPPORTIIIG UNIT'FOR FOOITWEAR J, A.FIKANY Filed April 21, 1945 Patented Feb. 24, 1948 NITED aines'AFlanyCarbondale, Pa. t ',Afirlicafien-April 21,1945,seria1fNo. 589,647 fcims.(el: :a6- 71) My present 'invention-isfa'novelandimproved cushioning andarch-suppqrting: insertable and detachable vunit or padA to v beiittedvinto boots and shoes after they i are other-wise. completed, Ywhichinsertable unit has, preferably,A also-ran adjustable *arch-supporting,element fenclosedin the cushioning portion of the unit.

The present invention is an-improvement :over that of myprior-adjustable f`arclj 1 Patent vN o. 2,044,751, issued June 16,19365-,whereinj1ihave illustrated, described-.and claimedfan .adjustablearch supporting element ibuilt intot-heshoe structure itselfbetweenthe.l insole randwnitsole of, a standard type o fgshoe.Inymygsaid: prior patent, however, the adjustable larch-supportingelement was rigidly secured to'. the ,theel f portioncof vthe shoestructure, :preferably to the :heel itself, to facilitate the adjustablefeature ,land;vv the' raising and lowering ofthelarch--supportfiexplained in my said =patent,which lifted and TAloweredthe insole of the shoe.

wherein the: adjustatle'eierngent Vwas underneath the insole ,ofthegshoerequiring a c,ut-Qut`pa rt ofl the insole ,togfloe lifted, .a'djustmentsroughly made, and then ltheS'hQelltte-d fbacll on the foot, requiring avcontinu, iis'l cut'eandL-,trymethodgarid even then thettingrcoiildllnotlbeas accurately In my presentdnventionYl;.have-devised van improved detachable-and insertable ypad 'or unit,having a cushioning andfootsupporting relement and anadjustable.arch-snpporting feature which may be moved, adjusted, andsecured in desired position for lthe .foot ofwthe individual wearer, forpositioninga metatarsal-.arch-supporting element in proper position forthe wearer.

In my said prior patent, a novel and important feature was vtheraisingandlowering of the archsupporting element.underltheinsole;y butin my present invention, which-:comprises aninsertable and removableunit, the adjustment of' themetatarsal supporting `elementisi-koi.primeimportance, as the insertable1 .unit.orpad, and cushioningmember itself constitutesga; lifting Pandsupporting feature forI thelongitudinal .arch of the wearer. By means Yof the, removableandjnsertable unit constraction-v Qi?vv rny. present invention, varyingtypes, .thickne ss es,.andelengths of ymy inserta-ble unitAv canb'e,,instantlynttedato; any. type of 4standard`footw'earQ.an' 'l`be-,prggressively changed yfrom `,t ir'ne to' time ioot, treatinent,.`if desired. in addiiionothe .arise-.eifadjristment provided by the s ng'oi the nietatarsal arch within theinsertab eun1tts'e1f. My presentinvention thusv enables an adjust,.-

ment and nttirigtqit' maeeto'tnefoptef'the wearerby the Vadjjistrre'ntofthemetatarsal'archsupporting elements-before :the `pad is inserted inthe' shoe, "thusfgratly'facilitating accuracy, speed, and correctiitting"in'fthea'diustment 'desired for'eacnindi'vidual usfr. Su'hfanadvantage was Ynot possibleinftherpri'or:fcon'stru'ctiom obtained asWherafintmypresent invention, the detachable jpa'dl is,4 fittedtothefpotof' thel wearer in. full view fof 'the operatorfandiuseni Furthermore,lmy present,dir iprc'wedl insertab'le and detachableunit canlbefshifted.from one,A pair of shoes to another .which,..of course, islamostimportant advantage,

In the .manufacture Vof ,.my. present improved foot-cushioning andarch-supporting unit .,I prefer to form the-.same of two layers ofsuitable yielding materialwhichmaytbe of leather, synthetic plastic,felt,. or thelike;fand1 I ft between the two Iayeraaeushioning elementin addition to the cushioningjeatures yprovidedtby .the layersconstituting the-. t opand bottom; portion ofniy unit.vSecuredalsotoethebottom-'layer .isl Aan adjustable element permittinglready' adjustment of the metatarsal-'.archesupporting portionto'ylttheparticular individual: wearer. jThis comprises a telescopingsliding-element, :having oneend secured and the other-.adjustablelongitudinally thereof, together with meanswfor quicklylocking the twoVsliding elements fin fadjusted position. The top .Ilayerf secured foverand around kthe cushioning and Vadjustable 'Y arch-supporting' elementan'd`is provided with annopeniiflg or recess to enable thev lockingandunlocking to be readily reached, and the z lengthwise adjustment `to beeffected.

Further detailsjaldvantages,,and novel 'combinations will be i'hereinafter morel fully" pointed out, described; and claimed.

Referring to thedrawin'g's illustrating a'preferred embodiment ofimyvpresent invention:

`I'ie 1 is 'a'planv'iewofzthelcrnplete' detachable cushioning andarchi-supporting element;

`Fig. 2 isa planview with'the upper foot-contacting layer rernve'd;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional vi'ew`on theline' 3-3 fFig. 1, -'and Fig.`4is a crossse'ctin'al'fview on rthe line 4-4 ofFig. 1. A

'As shownTin-'the'drawings mypr'esent unit comprises a' lower" layer t'I*and an upper layer'fZ of vyielding sheet`l niaterial,"having"acontoursuitable to t within thesizestyle; and type of shoe for which theinsertable .unit is to be utilized, these two layers being;.;united.around the'marg'inal portion y'asb'yristitching3. Any suitable .or

desirable contour can be employed, preferably extending from the extremerear heel of the shoe to the ball of the foot of the wearer in order toextend beyond the position of the metatarsal arch of the wearer. Theupper layer 2 is provided with a line of cut, as indicated at 5, Fig. 1,defining a window, leaving a tongue or flap 6, which flap is in positionto close and open said window and to fit over the locking element of thelongitudinally adjustable part of the shoe to facilitate access thereto.

The longitudinally adjustable element comprises a fixed metal guidingelement III rigidly secured by rivets, or the like, Il, II to the layerI, and an adjustable sliding portion I5 fitted to slide over and uponthe xed guide I0, said guide being provided with edge anges I2', I2within which the shank of the sliding member I5 is retained. Preferably,these flanges may be extended and turned over at the top, as shown atI6. I6. Fig. 4, meeting in the middle and constituting a cover for thesliding member l5 and a supportI forY this portion of the top layer 2.Fitted at each side of the telescoping members Il) and I5 are cushioningmembers 2li. 20 extending lengthwise of the telescoping elements and ofsubstantially equal or slightly greater thickness adjacent saidtelesconing members to provide a yielding support for the top layer 2and, hence, fort-he foot of the wearer.

These cushioning members also constitute a longitudinal arch-supportingfeature in addition to that afforded by the telescoping members. Saidtelescoping members may be constructed and arranged either to effect araising and lowering during longitudinal adjustment or to be in the samearc or curve throughout the entire extent of their longitudinaladjustment, as a suitable unit can be fitted to the foot of the wearerto Yprovide for the longitudinal arch-supporting extent desired,irrespective of the telescoping elements. This is a further advantageousfeature of my present detachable unit.

The sliding portion I5 preferably terminates at its outer end in ametatarsal arch-supporting structure 2|, having a convex surface forcontact with the upper layer 2 merging into a slightly concave endportion 22; and, thereupon being bent backward in reverse direction toconstitute avslidi'ng support 23 for contact with the lower layer I andthus facilitate the longitudinal adjustment of the telescoping elementsIII and I5.

In order to secure the telescoping elements I and I in any lengthwiseadjustment desired, I provide a slot 24 near the end portion of theelement I5 which is engaged by a headed screw 25. having the shankextending thru said slot and into a threaded opening in the xed elementI0. Thus, a loosening ofthe screw 25 permits a relativel7 slidingcushion between the telescoping members I!) and I5 to provide lengthwiseadjustment of the metatarsal arch support 2l; whereupon. tightening ofthe screw rholds the same in adjusted position, the ap 6 being readilyraised for access to screw 25.

The operation and advantages of my improved invention will be readilyappreciated. An appropriate unit to t the size and style of the shoe ofthe wearer to which such unit is to be adjusted, which unit may be madeand marked corresponding to the size of footwear, is readily selected,whereupon the unit itself is adjusted to the foot of the wearer with theadvantages o full vision for the iitting'and adjusting operation.Thereupon, the unltis applied to the shoe and.

the assembly is complete. At any time the unit can be removed forfurther adjustment, thus eiecting progressive treatments of the archsupport and particularly the metatarsal arch-supporting feature; and, ifnecessary, additional units can be substituted or any of these units'can be removed from one shoe and replaced in another pair ofthe wearersshoes.

I claim:

1. A detachable arch-supporting and cushioning unit comprising an upperand a lower yielding layer united around their marginal contour, alongitudinally adjustable pair of telescoping elements, one of said pairbeing xed to a selected one of the layers, and the other beinglongitudinally slidable relatively with said fixed member, theslidablemember carrying a metatarsal arch support at its outer end, and aresilient cushioning element in the space alongside said telescopingelements and filling said space.

y2. A detachable arch-supporting and cushioning unit comprising an upperand a lower yielding layer united around their marginal contour, alongitudinally adjustable pair of telescoping elements. one of said pairbeing fixed to a selected one of the layers. and the other beinglongitudinally slidable relatively with said fixed member, a resilientcushioning element in the spaces alongside both sides ofsaid telescopingelements and lling said spaces, the slidable member carrying ametatarsal arch support convex at its outer end, said metatarsal archsupport having its end turned in underneath its convex portion forfacilitating sliding adjustment thereof.

3. A detachable cushioning and adjustable arch-supporting unit adaptedto be assembled in a completed shoe, comprising a pair of layers ofyieldable material united together, a pair of telescoping memberssecured between said layers and approximately in the lengthwise middleportion of said layers, having means for relatively longitudnal slidingaction within said layers, a plurality of yielding cushioning elementslengthwise of and adjacent to said telescoping elements and ofsubstantially equal thicknessto said telescoping members, means toadjust said telescoping members in lengthwise adjusted position, andmeans to lock said members in said adjusted position, said locking meansbeing accessible thru one of said layers.

4. An arch supporting unit for use in a completed shoe, comprising abase layer` a pair of curved telescoping members for providing a supportfor the longitudinal arch of the foot, one of said members beingfastened to said base layer, the other of said members being providedwith a convex portion for fitting under and supporting the metatarsalarch of the foot, means for variably positioning and securing saidtelescoping members with respect to each other for varying the size ofthe arch provided by said members, an upper layer secured to the baselayer and enclosing the telescoping members, thereby providing an archsupporting unit readily positionable in and removable from the shoe,said upper layer being provided with a window for giving access to thesaid means forvvariably positioning and securing said telescopingmembers.

5. An arch-supporting unit for use in a completed shoe, comprising apair of curved telescoping members for providing a support for thelongitudinal arch of the foot, one of said telescoping members beingprovided with a portion fOr ttina under and supporting the metatarsalarch f the foot, means for variably positioning and securing saidtelescoping members with respect to each other for varying the effectivesize of the arch provided by such members, upper and lower envelopinglayers of sheet material secured to each other and enclosing thetelescoping members, means in one of said layers of sheet material forgiving access to said telescoping members for adjusting them, and meansfor securing one of said telescoping members to one of 10 said layers ofsheet material, for providing an arch supporting unit readilypositionable in and removable from the shoe.

JAMES A. FIKANY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

